Santa Faustina Kowalska
'Santa Faustina Kowalska '''is a 21st century parish church at Viale Indro Montanelli 7, which is in the new suburb of Torresina in the Trionfale suburban district. However, the parish offices and another Mass centre are at Via Dronero 9 which is regarded as being in Mazzalupo to the south-west. This location is just east of the Grande Raccordo Anulare (Circonvallazione Settentrionale) and north of the Via di Boccea. The dedication is to St Faustina Kowalska. (Also see Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore a Mazzalupo and Santa Maria della Presentazione al Quartaccio.) History The first Mass centre in the parish territory was Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore a Mazzalupo, which is now the subsidiary church next to the parish offices at Via Dronero. This used to be the chapel of the house of studies of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (''Missionari del Sacro Cuore di Gesù) whose main church in Rome is at Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore a Piazza Navona. The Missionaries took over a pre-existing large three-storey house called the Villa Verjus, ''and added a chapel to its right hand side in the mid 20th century. This was given the same dedication as the Piazza Navona shrine church, and was the main Mass centre locally when the area began suburban development. Later the chapel became a subsidiary Mass centre of the parish of Santa Maria della Presentazione a Torrevecchia when that was set up. At the end of the 20th century the house of studies had been closed down, and the premises were being run as a pilgrim hostel (''centro di acconglienza). In 2008, the Missionaries gave up the property and it became the parochial offices of the new parish of Santa Faustina Kowalska. The chapel was kept on as a subsidiary Mass centre, and the "main church" was erected as a temporary structure at Torresina. Also the parish is responsible for the new church of Santa Maria della Presentazione al Quartaccio, which was erected in 2002. This seems to be intended for a proposed new parish. Thus, there are three public Mass centres for the present parish -but no permanent church dedicated to St Faustina yet. Appearance At present the temporary church at Torresina is a prefabricated hut made of concrete slabs with a pitched roof, neat but uninteresting. Proposed new church Details of a proposed new church were posted online on the blog of an architecture student called Giulia Galetto in 2014, and can be found here. If this is her own work, she is to be commended! However, the Diocese does not seem to be budgeting for a new church yet. The proposal occupies the same site as the present church, and involves a larger sports and social complex with parish offices, which would move from Via Dronero (the future of the church there is unclear once a permanent church is built). The overall plan of the church is irregular, approximating to a square. The main worshipping area (nave and sanctuary) is a rectangle, but appended to this are ancillary spaces. To the left, bottom to top, are a baptistery and three enclosed confessionals, while to the right are a ferial chapel (enclosed), a Blessed Sacrament chapel (leading off the nave) and a sacristy. There is an enclosed entrance foyer to the right of the frontage, leading into both the main church and the ferial chapel. The edifice in the plans has low external walls clad in limestone, topped by horizontal window slits below the side rooflines. The roof is an enormous concrete canopy in two actute-angled double pitches with the rooflines running longitudinally, and the slab roofing overlapping in the left hand pitch in the valley. This roof floats at both ends, behind the sanctuary and over the entrance as an enormous porch. There is no campanile in the proposal, but three bells are hung on the right hand wall of the ferial chapel. Liturgy Mass is celebrated (from October 2017): Weekdays 18:30; Sundays and Solemnities at 10:00, 11:30, 18:30. External links Official diocesan web-page "Torresina.net" web-page Category:Catholic churches Category:Outside the walls - North-West Category:Dedications to St Faustina Kowalska Category:Parish churches Category:21st century